Noncommittal About UConn's Joining ACC

N.D. AD

HARTFORD — Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Tuesday that he would not comment "on hypotheticals" when asked if the university would someday support UConn's candidacy to join the ACC.

"Twenty-eight years as an attorney has taught me never to [answer hypothetical questions]. So I will pass on that hypothetical," Swarbrick said.

Notre Dame and the Big East reached agreement Tuesday to allow the Irish to move immediately to the ACC after this season instead of delaying their departure until 2014-15.

"We said in September when we made the decision that we thought it was in everyone's best interest [for the separation to take place]," Swarbrick said.

Swarbrick would not say whether Notre Dame was asked to pay an exit fee, saying only that the university's deal was the same as the Catholic 7 received to leave.

"It provided us a template," Swarbrick said. "Whatever you feel the Catholic 7 deal was, you can transport to us."

Swarbrick said the ACC did not ask for any concessions from its football program in return for early entrance. Notre Dame will play five ACC opponents each season while maintaining a strong nonconference framework.

"There are so many things about [the ACC], the academics, the institutions, the geography," Swarbrick said. "It works very well for Notre Dame. We contemplate it being a long-term resting place."

Swarbrick also said he hasn't heard whether the ACC plans to expand beyond the 15 teams it will have next season. It will remain a 15-team league after next season when Louisville replaces Maryland, which will join the Big Ten.

Farewell To XL Center

Tuesday's title game ended the contiguous 10-year relationship between the Big East tournament and the XL Center. Even if the league remained intact, its contract to play the postseason tournament in Hartford was over.

The XL Center and UConn administration have expressed interest in bringing the new and still nameless league's first tournament back to Hartford.

But there is growing sentiment that the Mohegan Sun Arena will have enough support within the new league to host the tournament in 2014, at the very least.

Danielle Donehew, the associate commissioner of the Big East for women's basketball, said that no discussion about a future site would take place until at least May, when the new league's first spring meeting is scheduled to take place in Florida.

No Threes For UConn

The Huskies were shut out from the three-point line (0 of 5) for the first time since beating Oklahoma without one in the 2002 national championship game.

"I didn't want us to settle for outside jump shots," coach Geno Auriemma said. "But for us to go [without one], I didn't think we'd ever do that. I always think we are going to make the shot. We always do."

And so, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis remains three three-pointers shy of the UConn single-season program record (107) set by Wendy Davis in 1991-92 in 34 games. This was the 33rd game of the season for UConn. … Notre Dame's Kayla McBride was the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Skylar Diggins, Jewell Loyd, Stefanie Dolson, Breanna Stewart and Kayla Alexander of Syracuse made the All-Tournament team.

Scouting Combine

A number of WNBA coaches and executives have attended the tournament over the past two days. Diggins, UConn's Kelly Faris, Georgetown's Sugar Rodgers and Syracuse's Alexander will be among the top players taken in the April draft.

But actually making one of the 11-man rosters (there are 12 teams in the league) has become a harrowing task for those not taken in the first round. Some draft picks won't even be invited to training camp.

"It's a crime," said Anne Donovan, the coach of the Connecticut Sun. "You can only have 15 players in training camp and we've already signed four free agents. Do the math. It's such a disservice to these kids. It's such a long shot to crack 11 roster spots. It's a small window [for success] and it breaks my heart to know it."

Donovan, who coached Seattle to the 2004 WNBA title, knows that the business has changed because of economic concerns.

"It's the nature of the business in order to survive," Donovan said. "I'm sure that's why we are where we are. There isn't anyone who wouldn't want to see it changed. … It's an issue; I understand [the WNBA] is a growing business. But it is unfortunate for those players looking to break in."

Bird To Miss WNBA Season

Sue Bird will not play in the WNBA this season. The former UConn All-American and 2012 Olympic point guard will have surgery to address a cyst found behind her knee at the end of 2012 during an evaluation by Dr. Michael Joyce of the UConn Medical Center. Bird will finish the season with UMMC Ekaterinburg before the operation and will need six months to recover. The Storm will also be without All-Star center Lauren Jackson this season.